Marathon in Ladakh

About the Marathon in Ladakh - all and very complete information here:
MARATHON IN LADAKH.

About this tour, including acclimatization training and participation in the Marathon:
we tried to make this tour as interesting as possible.
The places we will visit and the tour mode will not only allow you to acclimate to the altitude, but also to meet the endlessly beautiful highlands of Ladakh.

About us in connection with the Marathon in Ladakh:
we live and work in Ladakh since 2010.
We organize and conduct tours in Ladakh, Zanskar and Spiti of very different directions:
from high-altitude trekking, yoga tours to pilgrimage and photography.
We love these lands very much and we are at home here.
And we are ready to give any information about Ladakh:
WhatsApp: + 91 95 96 796 372
Regardless of your place of residence, language, religion, profession, age, etc., etc.,
if you want to run the highest mountain in the world Marathon in Ladakh - we will be happy to accompany you!

About the tour program: the presented route seems to us optimal,
but we are always ready to listen to your wishes and make appropriate adjustments to the tour program.

About Alexander Cadkalo - co-organizer, consultant and participant of the Marathon in Ladakh.
Alexander is an experienced marathon runner and ultra trailer, has experience of trekking in Nepal, and has already traveled around Ladakh as part of the Tour of Tourist Company Project Photo Tour.
You can contact Alexander by the following contacts:
skype: kadkalo.alexandr
a personal message on Facebook.

Most of the photos in the tour description are clickable to a large size, just click on the photo and it will open in a new window.

See the photos that were shot by us during our tours of Ladakh, you can here:
(these are the places where you really will visit and will acclimatize to the altitude, train with the schedule of the tour, weather, etc.)
1. Ladakh at 500.
2. Ladakh on facebook.
3. Lake TsoKar on facebook.
4. Leh-Manalskoye highway on facebook.
5. Photo album Lech-Manal Highway.
6. Photo Album Lake Tso Kar.
7. Photo Album of Lake Tso Moriri.

Day 1, August 30: Delhi-Leh flight, acclimatization, evening walk through Leh.
Flight from the country of residence to the international airport of New Delhi, India.

At once, without leaving the airport, we fly to Leh.
This is a common practice on our tours to India:
The flights on which our tourists arrive at Delhi airport usually arrive at New Delhi airport from 2am to 5am.
Immediately after arriving in Delhi, we move from the international terminal to the terminal of domestic airlines (on a free airport bus, runs every 15 minutes) and one of the morning flights depart for Leh.
Flights to Delhi-Leh flights will be taken so that the time reserve between the external and domestic flights is at least 3 hours.
Administrator Proeta Photo Tour will help you to buy air tickets at the right time and at the right price.

Flight Delhi-Leh, 1 hour 20 minutes.
By the way, the flight of Leh-Delhi itself is a stunningly beautiful sight, as we will fly over the Himalayan Range.

For photographic participants - we recommend booking rooms on the left side of the plane in advance:
when landing in Leh this side is the most filming.

The height of the airport Leh above sea level - 3600 m.
Further - we go to our cozy, quiet hotel, we settle down, we have a rest after flights.
The first day in Leh - acclimatization:
drink tea and coffee, talk about the program of the tour, in the afternoon - go for a leisurely adaptation walk in the center of Lech.
We have dinner in a wonderful cafe "Penguin", we drink live fresh.
Here in the evening during and after dinner we will answer in detail all the questions of the participants of the Marathon in Ladakh.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 2, August 31: In the morning - the clinic of Tibetan medicine Mentze-Khang, in the afternoon - acclimatization trip along the valley of the Indus River (Chilling Gorge, Basgo Gonpa Monastery), 40 km.
In the morning we go to the Lehov Institute of Tibetan Astrology and Medicine to see Tibetan doctors.
Pulse diagnostics and individual recommendations to each participant for acclimatization.

Then we go to the first acclimatization car ride along the Ladakh valley, downstream of the Indus River.
We will visit today the incredibly beautiful Cheling gorge (the Zanskar river), where there is a walking tour through the very beautiful Hemis mountain park.

Lunch in the small village of Nimo, in the local tavern - magnificent vegetarian samosy, to which all Ladakh comes here.
And we will spend the evening in the Buddhist monastery of Basgo Gonpa - a snow-white beauty, absolutely incredibly suspended in the air among the bard rocks over the village of the same name.

Buddhist Monastery Basgo, Basgo Gompa - built in 1680 by the rulers of the Buddhist dynasty Namgyal.
The village of Basgo itself was known from antiquity and is mentioned in Ladakh Chronicles as a political and cultural center and the former capital of Lower Ladakh.
The monastery is famous for its unique frescoes of the 16th century and the Buddha statue.
Basgo Gompa stands on steep rocks, no, probably more correctly this way:
Basgo Gonpa has grown up on the tops of steep cliffs that are really part of its basement and literally hangs - hovering in the air over the village of Basgo.

Landscapes in the territory of the protected park of Basgo Gonpa are simply incredible - another word and not found:
the bizarre shape of the cliffs are mixed with the buildings of the monastery, and are interconnected not by paths, but by steep mountain paths.
And in the middle of this rugged landscape - in the hollows of colorful lakes.

It's endlessly beautiful:
probably Basgo Gonpa - the most unusual Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.
Located Basgo Gonpa in the steep bard rock, the very territory of the monastery - is a completely incredible landscapes.
You can wander around indefinitely.
Than we also will be engaged.

Hotel in Leh.

Day 3, September 1: Leh - Tso Moriri lake, through Chumotang, 252 km.
Today we set out on a long and rich road, now upstream of the Indus River.
We are waiting for a meeting with a high-altitude lake Tsar Moriri (altitude 4595 m above sea level), we have a beautiful and long road:
in one stop, we will have a picnic lunch in the nature of the river Indus.

Further we will cross the Yalung Nyalung pass (5450 m) and the dusty Rupshu plateau.
From the pass we will see a view of Lake Kyagar Tso (Kyagar Tso), an uncontrollably blue color, like the precious eye of aquamarine in the rim of the brown shores.

And after another 17 kilometers - a long-awaited meeting with Lake Tso Moriri.

Tso Moriri, Tsomoriri, Tso Moriri is the largest highland lake of Indian Tibet, 215 km southeast of Lech at an altitude of 4,595 m above sea level.
The maximum length of the lake is 19 km, the maximum width is 3 km, the maximum depth is 40 m.
This is the largest high mountain lake in the trans-Himalayan region within India.
The water in the lake is slightly salty. The lake is only available in the summer season.
Until 1959, local residents were engaged in the extraction of salt (czokar, in the local language of Ladakh) from the lake.
On the shore of the lake is the Monastery of Karzok Gompa and the village of Karzok with the same name, where we are heading.

Lake Tso Moriri is a beautiful remote quiet place.
In windless weather, Tz Moriri shakes her mirrors:
the world really becomes double, dual and this duality of the surrounding reality is felt literally physically.
Sunset evening mirrors on Tso Moriri are simply delightful.

Evening walk along the lake Tso Moriri, dinner in a mobile restaurant near the nomads.
On request - evening puja in the Buddhist monastery of Karzok Gonpa.
Guest house in the village of Karzok.

Day 4, September 2: Acclimatization training at Lake Tso Moriri.
Depending on the level of acclimatization of the participants of the tour, the routes for the first training at the altitude are chosen.
Guest house in the village of Karzok.

Day 5, September 3: Acclimatization training on the highway Tso Moriri - Lake Tso Kyagar (17 km).
The first serious training at altitude, the height of the route is 4,500 m.
Guest house in the village of Karzok.

Day 6, 4 September: Transfer to Lake Tso Kar. Acclimatization training on the road Tso Moriri-Tso Kar (38 km).
Transfer to the Tso Kara lake (4800 m).
And during the move - part of the route along the valley of the geysers - the second serious training at altitude.

A bit about the valley of high mountain geysers.
On the way from Ts Moriri to Tzar Kar, we will visit the unique high-mountain valley of geysers, located at an altitude of about 4500 m, the route for the run is 18 km.

Geysers here are very different: from small-gurgling huge bubbles to incandescent fountains-geysers with a height of more than three meters.
The Valley of Geysers in the literal sense of the word is absolutely fabulous place:
Here the climate changes sharply under the influence of hot springs and in the middle of the alpine desert of Ladakh there suddenly appear green alpine meadows interspersed with salt marshes, the slopes acquire the brightest colors.
Yellow - yields of crystalline sulfur, among which are hidden transparent ammonium crystals, brown, green crusts of salts.
In the sources you can also swim, and not only you can, but also you need - the sources are considered curative, so do not forget to take with you to the tour bathing suits.
The geysers themselves give beautiful bright pictures - pictures.

Hotel-camping on Lake Tso Kar.

Day 7, September 5: Acclimatization training on the lakes Tso Kar and Tso Startsapak (16-30 km).
Lake Tso-Kar - perhaps the most charming of the lakes of Lesser Tibet.
The epithet "beautiful" - here not absolutely that, Tso-Car is especially charming: soft paints, half-tones, closed miniature, water color of paints surrounding mountains of a lake, calmness-rest.
The word "Tso-Car" literally translates as the White Lake. This lake is named because the salt and all its banks are covered with whitish deposits of salt.
Lake Tso Kar - is located 150 km southeast of Lech in the Rupshu Valley at an altitude of 4700 m.

From the height of Tso Kar looks like this: to the left - actually Tso Kara himself, and to the right - Tso Startsapak.
It is from one lake to the next and there will be a training track.

Tso Kar is very capricious and very diverse in all its manifestations:
from the weather, which can change here every half hour to landscapes - here and the smooth water with reflecting mirrors, and colorful solonchaks, and winding channels of the channel connecting the different parts of the lake.
To see the photos taken at Lake Tso-Kar during our travels, click here:
Lake Tso Kar, the Rupshu Valley, Lesser Tibet.

The final point of today's training is Lake Tso Startarsapak.
The history of our discovery of this lake is amazing:
the lake itself is on the map, but it was not immediately possible to find the way to it - there is no road as such for a long time, nobody uses it for many years.
We ourselves first came to the lake Tso Startsapak in 2014 and were literally fascinated by him:
just 10 km from the snow-salted Tso Kara we met with the green, gentle and affectionate beauty of Tso Startsapak.

Hotel-camping on Lake Tso-Kar.

Day 8, September 6: Training on the highway Lech-Manalsky highway near the Grand Canyon (serpentines).
Lake Tzar Kar is located in the immediate vicinity of the Leh-Manal Highway - the highest mountain road in the world,
The height of the route for training is 4700 - 5000 m.
Leh-Manal Highway - a highway in India, connecting Leh and Manali.
The road is open from June to mid-October, when the Frontier Road Organization cleans all snow from the highway.

This road connects Manali with the valley of Kullu, Lahul, Spiti and Ladakh.
The Leh-Manal highway was built and used by the Indian army to transport military equipment to the Pakistani-Chinese lines.
The times of aggravated conflicts have passed, and today, moving along this beautiful highway, we will see something that was recently seen only by soldiers of the Indian army and a few nomads and shepherds.
The route itself is asphalted.

Between the Lachlung-La and Taglang-La passes, this road crosses the Mor Plain:
The dusty desert high mountain valley is incredibly powerful in its pristine beauty.
Today's training will take place in close proximity to the Grand Canyon, where the Lech-Manal Highway is replete with serpentines, very similar to the serpentines of the pass Kardung La.

Some lyrics:
this road is extremely difficult to describe in words - suitable words are hard to find
most of all it's like moving inward, deep into a huge Stone Flower.
Feeling as if the surrounding world with the stone petals of the mountains breathes, lives, trembles, surrounding from all sides.

There is also a training route on the left side of the Grand Canyon:
in general, it looks like this:

And the canyon terrace itself is flat, smooth and comfortable - there are rolled dry ruts, and is located at an altitude of 4800 - 5000 m.
The length of the route along the canyon is about 12 km one way.

Hotel-camping on Lake Tso-Kar.

Day 9, September 7: Lake Tso Kar - Leh via the Tanglang La Pass, (267 km).
After breakfast we leave for the return journey to Lech.
We are waiting for a very interesting and rich in landscapes and panoramas high-altitude road.
And it is here that today's training will take place.
We will climb to the second highest pass in Ladakh - Tanglung La (5358 m), and from the height we will see the high-mountainous dusty valley of Rupsh.

View of the Ladakh valley from the Tanglung La Pass.
It is on this road that we will go down.

For lunch we go down to a height of about 4 000 in a small village of Rumce.
Waiting for all participants of the tour in the village of Rumce.
The place here is very atmospheric:
the village of Rumce is located at the very entrance to the Bordovye Gorge, against which the white stupas and small houses of the village look strikingly bright.
And further return to Leh via the Bordovye Gorge.

Arrival in Leh by 4 pm, rest.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 10, September 8: Registration for participation in the Marathon. Departure to the Ultramarathon track with the organizers. Overnight in the camp of the organizers.
In the morning - rest and individual training,
after lunch - departure with organizers to the village of Kardungla, height 3975 m.
Overnight in the camp of the organizers in the village of Kardungla.
All information on the Ultra marathon through the pass Kardungla is here: KHARDUNG LA CHALLENGE (5370M).
Here is the route that the first part of the Marathon (before Cardung La Pass) looks like - this is September 2017:

Hotel in Leh.

Day 11, September 9: Ultramarathon KHARDUNG LA CHALLENGE (5370M).
At 3.00, the ultramarathon starts.

We meet the participants at the finish, take them to a warm hotel, feed, rest.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 12, September 10: Marathons in Ladakh.
Today, three marathons start: the start in Lech and the ending in Lech.
Details here:
7 km, half marathon and marathon.

We meet the participants at the finish, take them to a warm hotel, feed, rest.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 13, September 11: Acclimatization rest after the marathon, clinic Men - tse - Khang, monastery Tiksey Gonpa, White Stupas Shay Gonpa.
Rest after the Marathon.
Summing up the results of the Marathon, rewarding.
Visiting official events for rewarding, if desired, a second visit to the clinic of Tibetan medicine Mentse-Khang.

In the afternoon, a final walk through the Ladakha Valley.
By lunchtime we arrive at the Buddhist monastery of Tiksei Gonpa, here we also have lunch - in a restaurant overlooking the Ladakh valley.

The monastery of Tiksey itself is huge - the largest in Ladakh, in fact a monastery town, with surrounding villages, surrounded by ancient stupas, lamas' houses, monastic schools.
The monastery of Tibsey Gonpa consists of twelve levels and ten temples that rise on the slopes of the mountain.
At the very top are private apartments Rinpoche Gonpa.
Below the monastery itself, along the mountain slopes, there are chapels and houses of monks.

After lunch we walk along the Teixean Gonpe, inspect the halls, libraries, the Temple of the Defenders of the Dharma.
Tiksey Gonpa - very beautiful and significant monastery of Ladakh and not to visit it - it would be extremely offensive).
By the way, on the walls of Tiksey Gonpa unique ancient frescos depicting scenes of human sacrifices were preserved.

After Tiksey Gonpa we will set off on the way back to Lech, and on the way we are waiting for one more stop:
in the evening sun, we will just arrive at the White Stairs of Shay Gonpa, the place where the great Buddhist Teacher of Naroda meditated.
It is close to the Monastery of Tiksey, only 3 km away and if desired - we can walk on foot.

White Stupa is a huge area, dotted with - in the literal sense of the word - ancient white stupas of various shapes and sizes.
The space of the White Stupas is very unusual - here there is a feeling that time has stopped, it is very calm, and here it is very beautiful in the evening light.
And here we will finish our last day in Ladakh.

We return to Leh.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 14, September 12: Flight of Leh - Delhi. Excursion around Delhi (on request). Homecoming.
In the morning transfer to Lech Airport and Leh - New Delhi flight.
High mountain ranges Ladakh through the windows of the plane.

In Delhi, depending on the time of departure, you can either spend time at the international airport of New Delhi, or book a tour of Delhi with a Russian-speaking guide.
Departure from the international airport of New Delhi to the Motherland.